Locals Cole Schneider and Matt Greene co-host the weekly film podcast “Movietown Movie Club.” Each week, they will share their different takes on new movies out in area theaters. For more, visit Movietown Movie Club on Facebook.

Longtime Panama City resident Cole Schneider, born in Long Beach, Calif., always has preferred popcorn and a movie to a long walk on the beach.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” opens with Llewyn playing at the Gaslight Cafe in 1961.

Why no opening credits? Because to get inside Llewyn we must think as he thinks — soulfully. He’s no careerist; he’s a folk singer.

Truthfully, though, Llewyn is also a loser. He floats from couch to couch waiting for someone important to recognize his talent, and while life isn’t kind to him, he doesn’t help himself either.

“ILD” works best as the sublime, melancholy B-side to the Cohen brothers’ (Joel and Ethan) Homeric “O Brother Where Art Thou.”

“ILD” suggests much about the journey of an artist and how it relates to his/her destination. What is suggested is a duality. It’s true the artist may toil forever in a loop of despair, but it’s also true that if the artist has both ability and luck, the destination may be more promising.

The Greenwich folk music scene did spawn Bob Dylan. The Coens themselves are artists who made it out of the vortex of Hollywood. In this way, “ILD” isn’t as much a somber tragedy as it is a refractive meditation on art, the makers, and the role that time, place and chance play in their destinies.

It is James Joyce, rather than Homer, that we find here, and just as Joyce was a master of modernist literature, the Coens have established themselves as masters of modern film and “ILD” may indeed be their masterpiece. It’s a layered work touching on life and mortality, and it’s telling that the ancillary elements of filmmaking take a backseat. The acting, cinematography and production design are sung in perfect pitch.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Matt: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ sings

Panama City Beach musician Matt Greene, who has a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, always has enjoyed viewing, debating and critiquing all forms and aspects of film, from foreign films to slapstick comedies.

Joel and Ethan Coen are arguably the greatest American filmmakers going today, and “Inside Llewyn Davis” is no exception to this theory. However, we can’t judge “ILD” like their other films, or like many other films — period.

Instead, it begs to be critiqued like a great folk song: simple yet elegant, layered and lyrical, stark yet brightly colorful, familiar yet utterly new, funny but ultimately somber. This is musical cinema at its most pure, placing us firmly within the main character’s shoes, forcing us to ask, “Who are these people on stages that we idolize?”

“ILD” follows folk-singer Llewyn as he struggles to find a balance between life, relationship, business and art. But unlike many struggling artist films, we aren’t made to simply feel the plight of this guy’s fight for notoriety and mourn his ambiguity. Instead, Llewyn (phenomenally played by Oscar Isaacs) is an extremely abrasive, albeit immensely talented, character.

His life is an endless cycle of minor highs and crushing lows. So despite the many colorful and self-centered characters we meet, played by a who’s who of “Hey! It’s that guy!”’s, Llewyn has only himself to blame.

The original soundtrack, written by T-Bone Burnett and performed by the actors, is the best I have heard since “Once.” They have nailed what it feels like to be a musician. The songs alone are enough of a reason to recommend, if it weren’t also for the hilarious script, strong performances and stronger themes.

“ILD” will stay stuck in your head like a catchy, beautiful song long after you leave the theater.

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